Murdoch Is Now Really Aligned with Shareholder Interest!

Fri., Apr. 26, 2013

News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch is getting a 15 percent raise in 2014 targeted compensation following the carve-up of the media combine into two.

The 81-year-old Australia native now has a shot to earn $28.3M.

That sum is not in the sphere of the robber-baron booty hauled in by Wall Streeters and hedge fund titans, but it's no small change in the media business.

News Corp.'s board of directors "rationalized" Rupe's big payday by seeing the need to "further align his compensation with the interests of stockholders."

Geez, Rupe was holding back with his former $24.6M deal.

The sorry thinking of the compensation board is that Murdoch will now try harder because a bigger chunk of overall comp is discretionary based on financial performance of the two soon-to-be publicly traded companies.

C'mon.

Murdoch's family owns 38.4 percent of News Corp.'s outstanding shares. How much more aligned can his interests be?

Murdoch is the master builder of News Corp. His kids, James, Lachlan and Elisabeth, are potential successors. Rupe isn't going anywhere any time soon.

The compensation board could have demonstrated an independence streak by keeping Murdoch’s comp at the same level of 2013.

Even better, Murdoch could have announced that he would become a $1-a-year man. That would have been a stroke of pure PR genius.

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Comments

May 7, 2013, by Joe Honick, GMA International Ltd

Ron, despite all your sermonizing about good and not so good, in your mind it all comes down to the buck, doesn't it? We get the point.

May 2, 2013, by Ronald N. Levy

In corporate leadership as in new business work, whoso bringeth in the bucks deserveth a share therein. Prospective new business bringers--and with less definition corporate leaders--are often rewarded with an opportunity to "eat a share of what you kill."

Apr. 29, 2013, by Joe Honick, GMA International Ltd

Ron Levy re Rupe's profits: So what? Leaders are responsible for what's done in their names, and what has emerged around the world in his name is often less than pretty. As Harry Truman said quite correctly: if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen."

The trend now emerging with Hearst, Sinclair and the Koch boys to consume more and more of news media may mske money but at what cost to the nation?

Apr. 29, 2013, by Ronald N. Levy

Rupert Murdoch was savagely attacked by legislators day after day for months because of alleged misdeeds of his subordinates, but the company's dividends for the past two years are over TEN times as high as for previous years.